20,000 Leagues Under...Not Over

Do you ever look at the stars and wonder if there are life forms more advanced than humans? Do you ever ponder about a day when some highly evolved creature will swoop down and suck your body into their vehicle, only to prod and prob? I know I have. But, do you ever wonder what things are creeping around in your closet (and its not just R. Kelly.)?

Something I tend to notice in the progression of human knowledge is the extensive journey to space. One astronomically expensive (no pun intended),  feat to explore the vastness of our cosmos.In 2005 NASA had a budget of $16.2 billion for engineering, spaceflight, and science funded by NASA. An unfathomable number to conceptualize in our tiny brains, especially given the fact that the money is only supposed to last one year. When honestly, all they are really doing is looking at rocks, wondering if those rocks once had water, or worrying about the big rocks blowing up our planet. But why are we so worried about the rocks hitting us if we truly have no understanding about what is counted in the word "us." Sure humans, verily the most self conscious not to mention anxious species, exist here. But what else?

 That hugely open ended question of, "What else," is exactly the cause of a decade long research project by the Census of Marine Life involving 80 countries and $650 million in financing. The results were amazing. The end result of the project's species count: over 200,000 life forms. NASA: zero.

Seriously, less than half of the budget spent on one year of space science can be spent on ten years of research into our own atmosphere.  So, our space program could spend uncountable billions on a trip to Mars, Jupiter, or maybe Uranus. Or we could spend that money on something that truly matters, learning what thrives in our own planet. Here are some amazing images proving that our seas are just as vast and spectacular, if not more, than the farthest reaches of space.

I have one final question, would you be more worried about the home intruder lurking two states away or the one hiding under your mattress? Guess where I'm looking before I go to sleep tonight.